As recently as mid-March, Chance Main didn’t know whether his college football career was over or not.
Granted an extra year of eligibility because of a medical hardship, however, Main is hoping to find the right spot for his final season – and it could be in Boulder.
“I’m really looking into it because it’s somewhere … Boulder, I enjoy, Colorado, I love,” Main said. “It’s definitely something I’m taking seriously, so I’m looking to go meet with those guys.”
Main, a 6-foot-4, 270-pound defensive end, played last season at Colorado, recording 28 tackles and two tackles for loss in 12 games.
Main is also one of 43 CU players that have put their names into the transfer portal this spring, but his situation is much different than the others who have been a part of the roster overhaul by new Buffs’ head coach Deion Sanders.
After two seasons (2017-18) at Independence (Kan.) Community College, Main transferred to Incarnate Word, playing in 2019 and the COVID pandemic-delayed spring season of 2021.
Already planning to leave UIW after that season, Main suffered a shoulder injury in the final game of that 2021 spring season and nobody picked him up for the 2021 fall season.
A year ago, he accepted a scholarship offer from CU and was told he had two years to play because of his medical hardship. After last season, however, he got different news.
“I got an email in January that said your scholarship’s expired,” he said. “I’ve got this medical hardship form and it was never filled out.”
When Sanders was hired, Main had already gone back home to Cherryvale, Kan., and spent the next several months fighting to get his final year back.
“It took about three months for me to gather all the information from doctor’s notes to anything I’ve had from when I started college football,” he said. “I had to gather that all up and send that into the NCAA. That took about three months to process and once they went through it all they said, ‘Yeah, that’s right, you do have another year.’”
While waiting for the process, Main actually participated in UIW’s pro day on March 22 to keep his options open.
“The next day, the NCAA approved my medical hardship waiver,” he said.
Main put his name in the transfer portal on March 24 to explore his options.
Unlike many others from CU that have gone into the portal, Main has never been a part of the Sanders program in Boulder and has never met Sanders. But he recently began talking with CU coaches Charles Kelly, Nick Williams and Sal Sunseri. Last weekend, Kelly offered him a scholarship.
“Charles Kelly was kind of the guy that really explained everything to me and got me interested,” he said.
Main played last season at 240 pounds, his lightest weight since junior college, as he struggled to keep weight on. He held his own, but has since bulked up to 270 pounds.
“I really just started eating a lot more, force feeding myself, doing the things you’ve got to do to gain weight,” he said. “You can definitely play in the trenches at 270 and with my length and everything.”
Main, who has been working out and working at home in Cherryvale, said he has several other options for next season, but CU is in the mix. He certainly doesn’t need to tour the CU facilities, but hopes to visit the Buffs’ coaches this weekend.
“I just more so need to talk about defensive scheme and where you see me in the defense, what impacts do you see me making here and where you see me helping this program,” he said. “With one year, my situation might be different than a guy that has two or three more.”
As he explores his options, Main hopes to have a decision made by next week.
“I’ve had a lot more time to talk with other teams to look further into their programs and have some really good situations for me and what I want to do for this final year,” he said. “This next season could really make a big impact on what I end up doing in the future.”
